 clickable | | Am I a Christian Full-Time? I ask myself: Am I a Christian by fits and starts, or am I a Christian full-time? Our culture of the ephemeral, the relative, also takes its toll on the way we live our faith. God asks us to be faithful to him, daily, in our everyday life. He goes on to say that, even if we are sometimes unfaithful to him, he remains faithful. In his mercy, he never tires of stretching out his hand to lift us up, to encourage us to continue our journey, to come back and tell him of our weakness, so that he can grant us his strength. This is the real journey: to walk with the Lord always, even at moments of weakness, even in our sins. Never to prefer a makeshift path of our own. That kills us. Faith is ultimate fidelity, like that of Mary. —from Mother Mary: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis |  MorningOffering.com | †Quote
"Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavor to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety."
— St. John Bosco † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it."
— St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, p. 404
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina † VERSE OF THE DAY
"O Lord, you are my God, I extol you, I praise your name; For you have carried out your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true."
Isaiah 25:1 |  click to read more | | Embracing the Human Condition Embracing the Human ConditionJesus was familiar with the human condition. Nazareth did not protect him from the state of fallen humanity. Rather it afforded him concrete observations of that condition, the condition he came to redeem. Although Joseph would not witness the cross of his son, he participated in it by the sacrifice of his life, the toil of his daily work. He undertook this work in order to properly care for Mary and Jesus. In this Joseph experienced in his life a glimmer of the resurrection. Through the toil uniquely associated with the work entrusted to him by the Father, Joseph began in his unique way to build the new heavens and the new earth. —from the book Jospeh, the Man Who Raised Jesus by Fr. Gary Caster | Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 16:11-15 We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us. Responsorial Psalm Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 15:26b, 27a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 15:26—16:4a Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning. "I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you." | Meditation: Acts 16:11-15 Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop (Optional Memorial) If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home. (Acts 16:15) Imagine hearing a knock at your door. Outside you find an unexpected visitor—a friend asking to stay with you. How would you feel? It's likely you would pause, do a quick mental inventory of the state of your home, gulp, and smile, saying, "Of course! Come on in." It might be a bit humbling because your visitor will see your home in a much more intimate way—including the cobwebs and messy closets. We see something similar in today's first reading. Lydia was a Gentile who worshipped the God of the Jews, but she listened closely to Paul's preaching and allowed her heart to be opened further—to Jesus. God's love for her awakened a new level of trust and action. Suddenly, she not only had the courage to invite the apostles into her house, but she persisted in asking them to stay with her. She didn't care that they might see her true self. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have Lydia's freedom when it comes to Jesus—the freedom to invite him into your life? Not just to have tea in your clean, tidy living room, but to stay and see the messy closets and the cluttered countertops. But you can. The more confident in Jesus' love you become, the more readily you will fling wide your doors to welcome him in. You might have dusty corners that you avoid or try to hide from Jesus. Of course, you know that Jesus already knows everything about you, but you'd rather not face your messy spots. Long-standing hurts or fears, a troubled relationship that needs forgiveness, or bad habits like spending too much time on social media—you might be embarrassed by these and be reluctant to let God help you with them. Don't let your fear or pride stop you! Jesus always responds to our inner messes with love, mercy, and yes, a readiness to help. He is like that person who comes into your messy home and then happily lends you a hand. So don't worry about sharing those messy struggles with the Lord. Instead, let him help you clean them up, as any good friend would do. "Jesus, I want to open my life more fully to you. Come, Lord, and stay with me." Psalm 149:1-6, 9
John 15:26–16:4 |  clickable | We must offer people an opportunity to open their lives to Christ, and we must celebrate and support that decision by bringing them into the community and solid sacramental life. If we do this, our people will not wander in search of conversion, support, and community outside the [Catholic] Church.
—André Regnier
from Clear & Simple | 2cents:
""If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," amazing words from a believer "come stay with me". Hospitality. A place for the Lord Himself, is offered. | We pray today: "Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia. The Lord takes delight in his people". Our Lord loves faithful ones, He takes delight in them, it makes His heart smile. He loves you. | Our Lord said to us today: "I have told you this so that you may not fall away." He allows ample room for us with Grace...availed to us in Sacraments. From Bishop Barron today: Friends, today's Gospel focuses on the Holy Spirit's role as witness to Jesus: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me." All Christian preaching is ultimately about the Paschal Mystery—the dying and rising of Jesus—and the sending of the Holy Spirit. But this last element is especially important for today, because it signals the way that we are able to participate in the life that Jesus opens up to us. One of the chief marks of the Holy Spirit is the prompting to bold speech. From the Apostles through the great evangelists and theologians, up to Billy Graham and John Paul II, the Spirit prompts people to confess the Lordship of Jesus. Remember that Paul told us, "No one can call Jesus Lord except in the Holy Spirit." Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, but more precisely, the love shared by the Father and the Son. As the love between Father and Son, the Spirit comes most fully to historical expression during the great events of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery. |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Colossians 3:16 (Listen) 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Thank You Jesus | |
